Shoe-lace fastener



(No Model.)'

. E. H. ROBERTS.

- SHOE .LAGE FASTENER.

No. 472,078. 'PatentedApr. 5, 1892.

WITNESSES. MWFOB.

'NITED STATES,

ELMER H. ROBERTS, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

SHOE-LACE FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,078, dated April 5,1892. Application filed November 18, 1891. Serial No. 412,264. (Nomodel-) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER H. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLace-Fasteners; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and represent,in-

Figure 1, a plan view of my invention. Fig. 2 is-a side elevation of thesame device.

The object of this invention is to produce a cheap and efficient meansfor securing the ends of shoe strings or laces, when the shoe is laced,withouttieing or knotting them.

To accomplish the abovenamed object, I form a base-plate from sheetmetal, as represented in the drawings by the letter A. Any Well-knownmeans may be employed for securing the base-plate to the leather orother material of which the shoe is composed; but I at present prefer toform points or prongs integral with the base-plate and at approximateright angles to the same, as shown at a a a a. A bail is formed of wire,preferably flattened on its inner side, so as not to bring an excessivewear upon the lace or string from being repeatedly drawn underneath it,and is represented by the letter B. The bail is bent so as to form aneye or opening between itself and the base-plate at one end, preferablythe lower end, and is shown at b. The other or upper end of the bail ismade to converge, so as to very nearly touch the plate at its upper end.The bail is held in position by being placed between the prongs a a a ain a manner readily comprehended by reference to the drawings. Theprongs are then passed through the material of which the shoe iscomposed and clinched by bending the prongs in opposite directions. Aswill readily be comprehended, the bail is thereby clamped betweenltheshoe and the base-plate, but in such a manner as to admit of a slightlateral swing or movement, which forms an important feature of thisinvention,

as will be more fully hereinafter made apparent.

The operation of the device is as follows: The fastening being securedto the shoe inthe manner described, the shoeis laced in the usualmanner. The end of the lace-string is then passed through the eye oropening between the bail and the base-plate and then draw up underneaththe converging portion of the bail, where it is held by frictionalcontact, after the manner of the Well-known garmentsupporter.Furthermore, it will be seen that as the strain is put upon the lace-string the tendency isto swing or draw the bail in the direction fromwhich the strain is applied, and as the bail is pivoted beneath thebase-plate it is obvious that any movement of the bail arising from theabove-described cause, closes 0r reduces the space between thebase-plate and the bail, thereby clamping the lace-string more firmlyand securely.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patout, is

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a lace-fastener consisting ofa base-plate and a swinging bail formed of wire and having its ends bentinwardly, opposing each other and engaging the base-plate at its rearside, said base-plate and bail forming conjunctively a receiving-eyeterminating at one end in a tapering slot, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a lace-fastener consisting ofa base-plate provided at each end with a pair of inwardlystruck securingprongs, and a swinging wire bail having its ends bent inwardly, opposingeach other, and seated behind the base-plate between the respectivepairs of prongs, the bail being bent to form a receiving-eye between thesame and the base-plate, said eye terminating at one end in ataperingslot, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELMER I-I. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

HERMAN HEss, M. E. POMEROY.

